Akashi Gouji
Akashi Gouji is a character in Sakigake!! Otokojuku, and the head of the Second-Year Class. He is a master of the Straight-Line Style swordsmanship. Appearance Akashi has short, white hair (this was changed to black in the anime) and a grim, chiseled face. He wears a unique version of the Otokojuku uniform, with a sleeveless jacket that he usually leaves open, and one pauldron on each shoulder. He wears an incredibly long sword on his back. Personality Powers and Abilities Techniques Akashi is the successor to the Straight-Line Style (一文字流, Ichimonji-ryu) of swordsmanship, an unparalleled sword style originating with the sword saint Koizumi Masamune in the Edo Period. This style involves the following techniques: Rock-Slicing Sword (斬岩剣, Zanganken): Akashi's signature technique and the source of his catchphrase. Akashi's sword is able to cut through almost any material, the only exception shown being J's Magnum Steel knuckle duster. Gale Sword (烈風剣, Reppuken): The wind pressure from Akashi's sword generates a blast of air, allowing Akashi to attack his opponents from afar. Dicing Sword (微塵剣, Mijinken): Akashi can dice his opponent's weapon into minuscule pieces in mere seconds, disarming them. Bloodclot Pierce (血栓貫, Kessenkan): A suicidal technique, where Akashi pierces his sword through himself, avoiding all his major arteries, to attack an opponent behind him. History Early Years at Otokojuku and Suspension Akashi was the head of the Second-Year Class, three years prior to the story's beginning. He was part of a force sent by Daigouin Jaki to defeat Otokojuku's enemy to the north, and ordered by Rasetsu to scout ahead of the main force on top of the mountains in a thick blizzard. When he discovered that the bridge was out, he stained his shirt red with his blood and waved it so that the trucks coming after him would see him, thus saving the lives of 123 Otokojuku students. However, during what would be labelled as the February 26th Incident, he slaughtered the entire first-year class and was suspended indefinitely (in the anime, he was a First-Year that slaughtered the entire Second-Year class for their brutal treatment). He remained head of the Second-Year class in absentia, but Edogawa assumed the duties of acting head. Return to Otokojuku and the Killoseum Three years after his suspension, Akashi was readmitted to Otokojuku and reassumed his duties as head of the Second-Year class. On his way to school he cut a special-made Benz in half and shred Matsuo Taio, Tazawa Shinichiro, and Gokukoji Hidemaro's pants for mocking him. Upon arriving at school, he was greeted with a reinstatement ceremony, using the ceremony as a public execution by Guillotine for Edogawa, for his failure to keep a tight rein on the First-Year class, and Togashi Genji, for showing up late to his ceremony. Togashi was saved at the last minute by Tsurugi Momotaro, who also showed up late to the ceremony. Intrigued that anyone would defy him so openly, Akashi challenged Momo to a sword duel, revealing his Straight-Line Style Rock-Slicing Sword. However, just as the battle was heating up, Edajima Heihachi intervenes to convince them to use their duel to help fund Otokojuku and escape their financial crisis. Akashi accepts, and would face Momotaro in the highly-publicized Killoseum. Before the battle of the Killoseum began, Akashi demonstrated the Rock-Slicing Sword to the crowd by cutting apart a gravestone with Momo's name on it. The battle initially began with Akashi and Momo dealing one blow to each other, but unable to block Akashi's sword, Momo could only dodge Akashi's attacks. Just as Akashi was about to finish Momo off, Togashi threatened Akashi with a pistol stolen from the police officers present. Togashi shot Akashi, only for Akashi to slice the bullet in half in midair and deliver a death blow to Togashi. This prompted the entire First-Year class to show their solidarity with Momo, and Momo delivers Akashi one final blow. Akashi collapsed, admitting that the First-Year class was not a lost cause, but swearing that this would not happen next time. Momotaro's Upperclassman After the Killoseum, Akashi's relationship with Momo turned friendly, yet strict, and Akashi stayed mainly on the sidelines to allow Momo to fight his battles. Upon J's arrival at Otokojuku, Akashi issued him a challenge, to see whether it was his sword or J's punches that could cut or crush anything. However, this brief encounter ended with Akashi's sword broken and J unharmed. Later, Akashi showed up during Momo's Boxing match with J, chastising him for trying to open his Mind's Eye by merely blindfolding himself. He then cut a layer off of Momo's eyelids to temporarily blind him long enough to open the Mind's Eye. Akashi spoke briefly with Momo during the School Festival, warning him about the Kanto Great Student Alliance, but ultimately leaving the First-Years to deal with them. He also warned Momo about the Four Great Trials of Terror, showing Momo the memorial to those who fell during the Trials and warning Momo that they are far removed from anything Momo and his classmates had experienced beforehand. Akashi was also present as a neutral spectator during Momo's fight with Jaki during the Great Trembling Conquest of the Unified Eight. After Momo achieved victory and Jaki committed suicide, Momo coughed up the key to release the Third-Years, and threw the key to Akashi to save the Third-Years while he saved the First-Years. Great Heaven-Challenging Olympic Tournament Akashi was not among the original sixteen members of the Otokojuku team participating in the Great Heaven-Challenging Olympic Tournament. However, as Dokugantetsu, Henshouki, and Eikei had died during the preliminary matches, Otokojuku was allowed three replacements during the finals, of which Akashi was the first. By the time Otokojuku's team members who had survived the preliminaries reached Hades Phoenix Island, Akashi was already in the arena, ready to challenge the Baolong Black Lotus Pearls. He easily dispatched Zhang-feng and Kou Jiu-shi, carving up large sections of the arena with his sword while doing so, and only struggled with Feng Chun when the latter poisoned him and challenged him with the Unretributed Si-tou-bei. However, Akashi adeptly claimed the goblet and sliced Feng Chun's harpoon in pieces, causing him to fall to his death when he attempted to swing to safety. Satisfied, Akashi finally returned to Otokojuku's camp. Akashi's next and final battle in the Tournament came during the battle with Mt. Liang, against General Song Jiang. First, Song Jiang sent three men performing the Striking Spiked Balls after Akashi. Akashi borrowed Momo's sword prior to the battle, and seemed to only dodge Mt. Liang's attacks until they drove him into the rapids. However, Akashi used Momo's sword to anchor him to the riverbed, and used his own sword to cut apart the pillar supporting the arena, causing it to tilt and plunge the warriors of Mt. Liang into river and over the waterfall, then using a single pebble to right it. Song Jiang then took the stage personally, and used his Great Magnet Area of Rejection right at the onset of the battle. With his sword covered in magnetic dust, Akashi's sword was constantly repelled by Song Jiang's armor. Song Jiang then used his Sincere Lotus Chain to catch Akashi in a net. Though all seemed hopeless for Akashi, Rasetsu cheered him on using the same bloodied shirt that he had used years ago to warn him. Akashi used Momo's sword to cut the net apart, and connected it to the end of his own sword to deliver a stab to Song Jiang's head. However, this last-ditch effort only scratched Song Jiang. It was then that Akashi noticed that the magnetic dust on his sword came off with blood, and turning around, used the Bloodclot Pierce to stab the sword through his abdomen and Song Jiang's throat. While this appeared to have been fatal, Jaki carefully pulled the sword out, revealing that Akashi was still alive. The Battle of Seven Tusks Later Life: Nationalist Organization Leader Upon his graduation from Otokojuku, Akashi went on to become the leader of a right-wing movement. He, along with the rest of the Otokojuku alumni, were summoned by Togashi to partake in the battle against the drug syndicate EXP, drawing first blood in their final confrontation at the EXP headquarters. Akashi had a son, named Akashi Juzo, who would eventually follow in his father's footsteps and enroll at Otokojuku. On Juzo's birth, Akashi gave him the Scars of Destiny, in Juzo's case taking the shape of a cross above his left eye, to set apart Juzo as a warrior. After Juzo had grown, Akashi trained him with the "Flowers of Death, Scent of Life", giving him a poison that would kill him in half an hour until he found the flower that contained the antidote from within a field of flowers with scent alone. Following this training, he conferred the Thought-Haze Sword upon Juzo by having him face a lion and an elephant with nothing but a sword hilt, which Juzo was to materialize a sword from. He left Juzo with the words, "Never assume you will survive your victory! A man must fight by dying, dying, and dying again!" During the Peerless Mourning, Akashi was among Otokojuku's spectators. Though he did not directly fight in the battle, he used the Blood Battle Reinforcement to encourage Togashi in his fight against Kuniyoshi Kinji. Major Battles * Akashi Gouji vs. Tsurugi Momotaro * Akashi Gouji vs. Zhang-feng * Akashi Gouji vs. Kou Jiu-shi * Akashi Gouji vs. Feng Chun * Akashi Gouji vs. Song Jiang * Akashi Gouji vs. Doc Rotton * Akashi Gouji vs. Colonel Hornet Appearances in Other Media Trivia His astrological sign is Capricorn. Site Navigation Category:Males Category:Characters Category:Protagonists Category:Otokojuku Category:Students Category:Otokojuku 2nd Year Students